According to Bruce Warren, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, there was discovered in 1959 at the ruins of Kaminaljuyu a stela (Stela 10) which might provide some evidence of King Noah. Stela 10 is really a royal throne with hieroglyphic writing that cannot be read at the present time, but the throne does depict a person who is dead by fire and a second figure of a king. [Bruce W. Warren, "Book Reviews," BYU Studies, Summer, 1990, p. 135]
In the Book of Mormon, the time of 148-147 B.C. corresponds to the events surrounding the prophet Abinadi, King Noah, and his son Limhi. The following is a list of interesting things to consider:
1. Three different calendars: According to Munro S. Edmonson (The Book of the Year: Middle American Calendrical Systems, 1988) three different calendar systems are recorded on Stela 10. The calendar systems are from (1) the local Kaminaljuyu calendar (upper left date), (2) the Olmec calendar (large head at the right center edge), and (3) the Teotihuacan calendar (lower center date). . . . All three different calendar systems record the same date of November 8, 147 B.C. (Gregorian calendar). The threefold repetition of the date manifest the extreme significance of the event described in the monument's inscription.
2. A symbol of divine kingship: The human figure in the upper-left has a royal symbol over his eye (see Schele and Freidel 1990:115, Figure 3:14). This crown-like symbol over his eye is the symbol of "divine kingship," or the belief that the king possessed certain godlike attributes or abilities.
Michael D. Coe, a renowned archaeologist, has described the bearded figure on the right as one of "several Izapan gods" (Coe 1987:49)
Warren hypothesizes that the figure in the upper-left might be the old king, or King Noah. A belief in the apostate notion of "divine kingship" and the worship of Izapan gods further identify this figure with the idolatrous monarch described in Mosiah 11:6-7.
3. The old King is dead: On the figure in the upper-left, the crown-like symbol is upside down, indicating that the figure is dead. It was customary for an aging king to choose and appoint a successor to the throne before his death, but as the stone indicates, at the time of the official appointment of the new king, the old one was already dead. King Limhi ascended the throne under identical circumstances (Mosiah 19:26).
4. New Year festival: The lower figure parallels King Limhi, who was "captured" by the Lamanites but accedes to the Nephite throne in the city of Lehi-Nephi. The date of November 8 is significant because it is still today the approximate day of the harvest festival in Santiago Atitlan (a Maya village on the southern shore of Lake Atitlan 70 miles west of Kaminaljuyu) and represents the New Year and the time kings ascended to the throne. (Allen J. Christenson, "Maya Harvest Festivals and the Book of Mormon," in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, pp. 1-31) It is interesting to note that the northern tribe of Ephraim celebrated their harvest date at about the same time.
5. Three hundred days---captivity: Traces of some hieroglyphs are incised in the upper left corner, but a more complete inscription is incised at the lower center of the monument. All that can be said of the lower inscription is that it begins with a time count of 15 uinals or 300 days and contains the "capture" glyph. (James A. Fox, The Ancient Maya, 3rd edition, 1984:536). Bruce Warren hypothesizes that King Noah might have died by fire 300 days before this ascension date of November 8th (according to the "capture" glyph date) and his son Limhi soon "had the kingdom conferred upon him by the people" (Mosiah 19:26). However, Limhi's royal accession to the throne could not officially take place until the New Year, which was November 8, 147 B.C. In the meantime, the Lamanites had captured king Limhi and forced him to pay tribute.
[Bruce W. Warren, Ancient America Foundation Newsletter, October 1996, pp. 4-6] [See also Joseph Willard interview with Bruce Warren, "Monumental Evidence: Will Stela 10 Confirm Kaminaljuyu As the City of Nephi?" in Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Vol. 1/1, Spring 1998, p. 5]
Mosiah 19:20 [They] caused that [king Noah] should suffer, even unto death by fire ([Illustration]): Stela 10, Kaminaljuyu might be evidence of the death of King Noah and the ascension of his son Limhi [Clate Mask, "And They Called the Place Bountiful," p. 36]
Mosiah 19:20 [They] caused that [king Noah] should suffer, even unto death by fire ([Illustration]): Figure 1: This is known as Stela 10 from Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. It may represent the assent of King Limhi to the throne (Mosiah 19:26). [Joseph Willard interview with Bruce Warren, "Monumental Evidence: Will Stela 10 Confirm Kaminaljuyu As the City of Nephi" in Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Vol. 1/1, Spring 1998, p. 5]